1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for receiving a short message in a mobile communication terminal, and in particular to a short message reception method for a mobile communication terminal which is capable of receiving SMS (short message service) data greater than a capacity of a memory of a mobile communication terminal.
2. Background of the Related Art
Recently, SMS (short message service) subscribers have increased in proportion to a rapid spread of mobile communication terminals. Unlike an e-mail service, in the SMS, information can be transmitted to a mobile communication terminal of the other party almost at the same time as a dispatch time. This fast communication rate has consolidated the position of SMS as one of the main communication services.
The SMS can exchange a short message of about 40 letters through mobile communication terminals of subscribers. If a mobile communication terminal is turned off or a pertinent mobile communication terminal is in a no-service area, a received short message is stored for a certain time until the pertinent mobile communication terminal returns to a service area. Accordingly, when a message is short or a voice communication is impossible, it is efficient to use the SMS (short message service). Also, because the short message service charge is cheaper than a voice communication charge, usage of the short message service has gradually increased. Particularly, a credit card company has introduced a service reporting transaction approval information to a customer by using a short message service in order to prevent card misuse. In addition, the SMS (short message service) has been applied to an electronic approval and an electronic commerce.
At least one drawback exists in conventional SMS systems. Specifically, there is a limitation in the capacity of a memory allocated to a terminal for a SMS. As a result, when a message over the memory capacity is received, formerly received messages are orderly deleted or a new message can not be received. More specifically, in the conventional mobile communication terminal, a storing capacity for SMS data is preset and SMS messages can be received only within the set storing capacity.
FIG. 1 is a flow chart illustrating the conventional SMS reception method of a mobile communication terminal. The method begins by allocating storage space for storing short messages in the memory of the conventional mobile communication terminal, as shown at step S11. Next, it is sensed whether a short message has been transmitted from a base station, as shown at step S12. When a short message is sensed, a pertinent mobile communication terminal judges whether there is a reserve space for storing the short message in the allocated memory as shown at step S13. When there is reserve space for storing the short message, the mobile communication terminal allocates the reserve space for storing the short message, as shown at step S14, and the short message is stored in the reserve space, as shown at step S15.
When there is no reserve space for storing the short message, the mobile communication terminal can not receive the short message as shown at step S16. A system of the base station periodically transmits the short message to the mobile communication terminal, but when a certain time set in the system has passed, as shown at step S17, the system finishes the short message transmission as shown at step S18.
The short message reception method of the conventional mobile communication system will be described in detail. First, a mobile communication terminal has a certain capacity of memory space for storing short messages. More specifically, if a maximum memory capacity for storing one short message is 50 bytes, the mobile communication terminal has a memory capacity of 5 kbytes for receiving 100 short messages. If a 101st short message is transmitted to the mobile communication terminal, the 5-kbyte memory capacity is exceeded, and accordingly the 101st short message can not be received.
The base station system periodically transmits the reception-rejected short message to the mobile communication terminal. However, the 101st short message cannot be received unless a user deletes a short message pre-received in the mobile communication terminal. At that state, when a certain time has passed, the base station system stops transmitting the 101st short message.
This conventional method therefore has significant drawbacks. As described above, in order to receive a short message in the conventional mobile communication terminal, there always has to be a reserve memory space of a mobile communication terminal. In more detail, when a memory of a mobile communication terminal for storing short messages is fully filled with received short messages, the terminal can not receive more short messages. Accordingly, a user has to check and manually delete received short message at a certain time interval in order to secure a reserve space of the memory.